Chernobyl nuclear disaster remembered 34 years on - in pictures

April 26 marks the anniversary of the day a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986

Girls wearing face masks place candles among others forming a radioactivity sign at the monument to Chernobyl victims in Slavutich, the city where the power station's personnel lived, some 50 kilometres from the accident site, on April 26, 2020. AFP

An aerial view at the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history. In April 1986, the nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl plant ruptured and exploded, causing radioactive contamination in the surrounding areas. A few photographers risked exposure to radiation in order to document the disaster. This photograph was taken in May 1986 just weeks after the accident. Getty

Ukrainians light candles and lay flowers at the memorial for 'liquidators' who died during cleaning up works after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, during a ceremony in Slavutich city. EPA

A nuclear technician checks, on September 1987, the radioactivity on the upper part of the nuclear reactor. AFP

Women wearing face masks light candles at the monument to Chernobyl victims in Slavutich. AFP

This picture, dated 1 October 1986, shows repairs being carried out on the Chernobyl nuclear plant. AFP

Former liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear accident wearing face masks lay flowers at Chernobyl's memorial in Kiev amid the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP

This picture, taken in April 1990, shows buildings abandoned because of the radioactive contamination produced by the Chernobyl nuclear plant No. 4 reactor's blast. AFP

An elderly woman wearing a face mask visits Chernobyl's memorial in Kiev to commemorate the victims on the 34th anniversary of the tragedy. AFP

People wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus pray during a commemorative religious ceremony in front of the church at a memorial of the Chernobyl tragedy victims in capital Kiev, Ukraine. AP

A clean-up operation veteran wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus pays respect to the Chernobyl victims at a memorial in capital Kiev, Ukraine. AP

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